


facebook official: a bangft primer

by shandian



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-22 04:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12473824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shandian/pseuds/shandian
Summary: an introduction to theopen relationshipfriendship between bang and deft





	facebook official: a bangft primer

**Author's Note:**

> i've had a lot of feelings about the friendship between deft and bang for a while now and just thought i'd organize what i've found in a primer and share it with the class;;; with all the hype surrounding the telecom wars this past year, i thought it was cute that their bromance is still going strong despite everything n__n 
> 
> (full disclosure: i’m not fluent in korean so i've done the best i could with the weibo posts i found and a bit of google translate. if you do spot any errors, i'd appreciate it if you could let me know!)

**prologue**  

_two teams, both alike in dignity,_

_in fair korea, where we lay our scene..._  

 

before we get started on the ~feelings, here's a quick intro to our ~~star-crossed lovers~~ protagonists: 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37736657576/in/dateposted-public/)

**kim "deft" hyukkyu (김혁규)** | b. october 23, 1996

  * current ad carry for kt rolster, a team sponsored by korea telecom
  * started his pro career in 2013 on mvp blue, which was later re-branded to samsung blue
  * left samsung in 2015 to join edward gaming but returned to korea in 2017 to play for kt
  * recognized as a top-tier adc and is most famous for his ezreal and [jinx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltqPQ2JavDs)
  * nicknamed 'alpaca' because of his resemblance to the animal
  * famous for his friendships with other pros, such as meiko, [imp and rekkles](http://markerlimes.livejournal.com/11054.html)
  * shy and soft-spoken but has a playful side too, especially around [teammates](https://youtu.be/wxvUWv9j5jc?t=1m37s) or [old high school friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU00iIO2QkQ)



 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37527378440/in/dateposted-public/)

**bae "bang" junsik (배준식)** | b. may 18, 1996

  * current ad carry for skt t1, a team sponsored by rival telecom company, sk telecom
  * grew up in hongcheon and moved to seoul to join najin white shield in late 2012
  * played for xenics blast before joining skt t1 s in 2013 and has remained with the skt organization ever since
  * also recognized as one of the best adc's in the game, though he's often overshadowed by his teammates
  * credits coach kkoma for changing his perspective of lol and gifted him a rolex "[because i promised i would](https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/385/skt-t1s-bang-gifts-his-coach-kkoma-a-rolex)"
  * [much more talkative](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV82kdYxdRo&list=PLMfOOwSuEWVG6RAPgS3KctJp4NKa-eynH), especially when the topic of his puppy gamju comes up, and delights in [teasing his teammates](https://youtu.be/X2tGIvbZcDk?t=3m23s) as well 



 

 **act i. beginnings**  

the friendship between our protagonists began some time in 2012, before either of them had begun their careers as pros. it's likely that they first encountered each other in solo queue and according to deft, their friendship started something like this:

 _"before i joined mvp blue, i also took the test for najin. at the time, junsik was already on najin's roster so if i had passed, he might have been kicked out. but i was completely clueless and i sent him a friend request, and even asked him a bunch of questions when i was preparing for the test. ever since then, we've been close friends."_[(x)](http://sports.news.naver.com/esports/news/read.nhn?oid=236&aid=0000106644) 

they remained friends during their first year as pros and on christmas day - arguably the equivalent of valentine's day in korea when it comes to ~romance - the two leveled up their friendship and declared themselves Facebook Boyfriends. in recent interviews, it was revealed that bang had been the one to suggest changing their relationship statuses and when asked why he picked deft, bang's response was:

 _"at the time, hyukkyu's cuteness was a hot topic among the pros and there were a lot of people who fell for his charms. everyone was clamoring to claim hyukkyu as their own, so that's why i chose him."_ [(x)](https://www.bilibili.com/video/av11640228/?from=search&seid=12031155631249117925)

after making their 'relationship' public, they grew closer in 2014 when easyhoon, deft's previous teammate on mvp blue, joined skt t1 s, which happened to be the same team that bang was part of. according to bang, it was through easyhoon that they started interacting more. at one point, bang's affections were so obvious that even coach kkoma knew about it (and documented it for posterity):   

 

coach kkoma wasn't the only coach in on the secret; coach ccarter was well aware of it too:

_poor wolf, forever the underappreciated support_  [(x)](https://youtu.be/Oex1_iN3UGo?t=1m29s) 

bang's teammates weren't spared either. during a joint interview with wolf, bang was asked about his special friendship with deft and he replied: 

 _"i'm in touch with hyukkyu every day. sometimes we even talk on the phone. [wolf: "it's true, they seriously talk a lot"] i've known hyukkyu before we were pro gamers, and after we became pros, we would cheer each other up when things got tough. we've kept in touch this whole time and gradually got closer. hyukkyu is really cute."_ [(x)](http://sports.news.naver.com/esports/news/read.nhn?oid=236&aid=0000106979)

faker, too, was subjected to their public declarations of affection. when he changed his facebook profile picture with the caption "wow, my skin looks great", the two descended upon his comments section:

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37092246834/in/dateposted-public/)

**deft** : junsik-ie is more handsome

      **bang** : hyukkyu's skin looks way nicer

sadly, the two friends were forced to part near the end of 2014: korea's e-sports organization decided to abolish the sister team system. as a result, pros were forced to seek out teams beyond korea's borders, and deft was one of the many players that left as part of the "korean exodus". he moved to shanghai to join chinese team edward gaming (edg) while bang chose to stay in seoul and remain with skt as their starting adc. to acknowledge the fact that they were parting ways, the two updated their facebook status from "in a relationship" to "in an open relationship" and it's stayed that way ever since: 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37632590890/in/dateposted-public/)

       _unfortunately, bang's facebook is no longer public but here's an old screenshot of their profiles circa 2016_

 

 **act ii. across the yellow sea**  

fortunately, our protagonists were not born in the 1300's and had modern technology at their disposal to maintain their long-distance friendship. not only did they continue to chat through the league client, but the two would sometimes even duo queue together (despite the fact that both were adc's) and take turns playing support, with varying results.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37840324611/in/dateposted-public/)

_[faker voice] please leave me alone..._

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37840326371/in/dateposted-public/)

_oh bromeo, oh bromeo, wherefore art thou a fart guy_  

the shenanigans didn't stop there. deft has a history of using interesting summoner names (see: 'slave of rekkles') and when he jokingly changed it to 'edg bang', the real bang decided to post his complaints on facebook: 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/23989280078/in/dateposted-public/)

      **bang** : why are you copying me TT

      **deft** : skt t1 deft, you change it too 

perhaps bang eventually realized that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery (or perhaps he just likes to troll), but when confused fans questioned bang on stream about why there was an 'edg bang'  _and_  an 'skt bang' in the same game, he replied: 

bang has done his own fair share of impersonations, and once sent deft a photo of himself on facebook referencing an old [ogn video](https://youtu.be/9RcPwGCLVh0) that deft filmed when he was on samsung blue:  

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37584452850/in/dateposted-public/)

there are many more examples of their online interactions during deft's stint in china, but in an attempt to keep this primer short, let's skip to some face-to-face meetings between the two!

since korea and china each had their own leagues, the only way for our protagonists to meet was through international tournaments. in an [interview](http://www.segye.com/newsView/20141220001135) a few months after deft's departure, bang mentioned his determination to qualify for the 2015 world championships so that he could meet deft again ("hyukkyu-ah, i'll see you at worlds"). thanks to the new mid-season invitational (msi) event that riot introduced in 2015, the two were reunited earlier than expected. both edg and skt participated in the tournament and actually faced off against each other in an [exciting five-game match](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyBjADJgcIY&t=23s) in the finals. 

the two met again at worlds in 2015 and 2016, and despite the fact that edg only made it as far as the quarterfinals both times, we do have some photographic evidence of their IRL shenanigans:  

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37737997166/in/dateposted-public/)

_water bottle shenanigans (2015)_

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37813301162/in/dateposted-public/)

_posing for fan photos after grocery shopping (?) with pawn + matchmaker easyhoon_    

   

_wildlife photographer!bang attempting to capture a camera-shy alpaca_

       _water bottle shenanigans (2016)_  

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/24037702868/in/dateposted-public/)

      _deft getting a close-up of bang's uh, shoes? let's go with shoes..._

 

 **act iii. reunited (and it feels so good)**  

during the two years that deft spent abroad, bang won the world championships twice with skt while deft faced only disappointments on the world stage with edg. in late 2016, deft announced that he would not be re-signing with edg and would join a korean team in the hopes of finally winning a worlds title. there was quite a bit of hype surrounding deft's new team, kt rolster, which was labeled a 'superteam' because of its star-studded line-up. while the spotlight was mostly focused on deft and bang's teammates, the botlane match-up between the two was highly anticipated as well. 

before the 2017 lck spring split began, the two were reunited at a literacy event held by kespa, who were kind enough to share a few photos of their interactions: 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37855520531/in/dateposted-public/)

_*zooms in on bang's hand on deft's shoulder*_

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37145639424/in/dateposted-public/)

_bang helping mata out with the alpaca grooming_

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/24002876688/in/dateposted-public/)

_water cooler chat with smeb and pawn_

kt and skt clashed twice during the regular season and met for the third time during the spring finals. the two teams got together to film the usual promotional video and although there was no official behind-the-scenes footage, we do have some cute twitter exchanges between the two.

the first is a video bang tweeted of himself patting deft's stomach (because that's just something bros do, apparently):  

 

> 혁규 배 퉁퉁치기 [pic.twitter.com/tKurmTaU2Q](https://t.co/tKurmTaU2Q)
> 
> — SKT Bang 배준식 (@JunSikJjang123) [April 16, 2017](https://twitter.com/JunSikJjang123/status/853533048712724480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

a little bit of backstory before we move on to their second twitter interaction. back in 2016, bang happened upon a pair of cute alpaca keychains that must have reminded him of deft, and he sent a proof pic to deft on facebook: 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37859272852/in/dateposted-public/)

he then bought the toy alpacas and proceeded to take them with him [everywhere he went](https://flic.kr/p/ZDZW1E) \- and i mean [everywhere](https://flic.kr/p/ZDZW19). they even had a cameo in an [excellent inven photoshoot](https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/1179/behind-skt-t1s-mask-streamer-junsik-bang-bae) he did in early 2017:

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37180274854/in/dateposted-public/)

anyway, the point is that bang kept these (couple) alpaca keychains for months before finally gifting one to deft while filming the spring finals promo. unfortunately, smeb discovered that deft was ~fraternizing with the enemy, and put an end to the alpaca's short life:

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37842531746/in/dateposted-public/)

      **deft** : kyungo (smeb) killed it TT

      **bang** : is this how you treat your gifts? TT

      **smeb** : shut up    

a week after skt defeated kt in the finals, deft tweeted bang a status update on the alpaca:

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/24038813168/in/dateposted-public/)

      **deft** : it's still hanging there TT

since skt were the winners of the spring telecom battle, they were invited to 2017 msi in brazil. bang didn't forget about his friend this time either, and posted the following on facebook:

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37891104051/in/dateposted-public/)

     **bang** : what do you want me to buy? TT pick something

      **deft** : nike TT

      **deft** : are you really buying it for me? TT

the telecom wars continued during the summer split after skt's return from msi, but our protagonists had a bit of a reprieve during the inaugural rift rivals held in taiwan. since the event was a competition between regions rather than teams, the two friends were on the same side for once. here's a cute moment between them backstage, courtesy of skt's [behind-the-scenes footage](https://youtu.be/yjQtq_J9I10?t=2m36s):

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37181438374/in/dateposted-public/)

      _bang with the hand on deft's shoulder once again, feat. faker third-wheelin_

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/37891199401/in/dateposted-public/)

      _casually cuddling in the bg while their teammates battle it out off the rift_

after returning to korea, the two friends faced off against each other one final time during the summer playoffs. before the match, bang talked a bit about his friendship with deft in an interview with kespa:

 _"a word to deft [about the upcoming match]? i hope that hyukkyu won't make any mistakes, that i won't make mistakes either, and that the match will be decided in the other lanes. that way, we won't have to hurt each other."_ [(x)](https://youtu.be/7uyjcSI4FXs?t=4m5s)

and even though deft's not the type to broadcast his feelings, it's clear from [this recent interview](https://www.bilibili.com/video/av11566028/?from=search&seid=5534513269338834500) that he still thinks fondly of his friend:

      **interviewer** : during one of bang's streams, a viewer asked him "do you love deft?" and he answered "yes!". what's your answer to that?

      **deft** : (laughs) i'm not sure if 'love' is the right word, but i do have a really good relationship with junsik.

      **interviewer** : are you two very close?

      **deft** : whenever we're going through a hard time we'd comfort each other, so yes we're very close.

 

**act iv. the end (is just a new beginning)**

as of the posting of this primer, fate has separated our protagonists once more: bang is the one in china this time, working his way towards his third world championship title while deft is back home in korea, waiting for the new season to begin. given how unpredictable the e-sports scene is, it's hard to say where the two friends will end up. but regardless of what team they're on, they've shown that their friendship the kind that can withstand the test of both distance and time. 

 

 

(now pls write all the fic about these cute dumb boys *prayer hand emoji*)

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/150674306@N03/24041823068/in/dateposted-public/)

 


End file.
